Abra governor in slay nabbed

Abra Gov. Vicente Valera was arrested yesterday and taken into custody by the police, a week after being implicated in the murder of Rep. Luis Bersamin.

Valera was apprehended by operatives of the police Traffic Management Group (TMG) in Quezon City before dawn yesterday for driving a vehicle without license plates.

The governor was in a silver Chevrolet Suburban van with three armed bodyguards when his van was pulled over by TMG agents who noticed that it had a siren.

Valera and his three bodyguards will be detained until charges are filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday.

Sources said Valera had just come from the house of Hergielyn Dimagiba, a former beauty queen residing at Teresa Heights in Quezon City, when he was apprehended by the police.

TMG director Chief Superintendent Errol Pan said Valera and his bodyguards —- Oscar Abella, Pedro Castillo and Leo Bello — were taken in for questioning over firearms found inside the vehicle.

"As the vehicle stopped, my men spotted the firearms so they secured the vehicle and brought Governor Valera and his men to TMG headquarters at Camp Crame," Pan said.

Chief Inspector Joseph Orsos, TMG Legal Division chief, said the permits covering the firearms seized from Valera and his bodyguards had been revoked since last year.

The firearms seized from Valera and his bodyguards included an MP5 submachine gun and six .45 caliber automatics.

Hours after Valera was picked up, joint operatives of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided the house of Dimagiba but found no firearms.

Orson explained Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Oscar Calderon had ordered the revocation of all gun permits in Abra following a spate of violent incidents allegedly instigated by private armed groups of politicians in the province.

Orsos said Valera and his men would be charged with illegal possession of firearms.

"We asked him to show documents of his firearms but what he gave us was the memorandum of the cancellation of PTCFOR (Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence) in the province of Abra. Siya nag-diin sa sarili niya (Valera incriminated himself)," Orsos said.

Valera was summoned by Task Force Bersamin to shed light on the killing of Bersamin and his police escort SPO1 Adelfo Ortega, who were gunned down in front of Mt. Carmel Church in New Manila, Quezon City last Dec. 16.

Valera denied the charges and said he would help investigators solve the murder.

But Valera missed the opportunity to appear before investigators to give his side of the story after he was implicated in the killing of Bersamin.

Raring to clear his name, Valera told reporters in Camp Crame that he no motive to kill Bersamin, pointing out a supposed "covenant for unity" he had with the slain lawmaker.

"Why would I order the killing of Bersamin where in fact, we have been party mates in the last elections and we will be party mates in the next elections. Somebody is poisoning the minds of the bereaved family of Chito (Bersamin)," he said.

Valera and Bersamin had run under the pro-administration party Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi).

On the night Bersamin was ambushed, Valera claimed he was planning to visit the funeral wake but his sister dissuaded him.

"My sister claimed she overheard during the wake numerous talks about me being the mastermind of the killing, so I decided not to attend the funeral because something bad might happen to me," he said.

Valera also turned the tables on the TMG agents by accusing them of taking his Rolex wristwatch and P300,000 cash in a red bag.

But TMG operatives claimed the governor was trying to get back at them for making the arrest.

"How could you lose a Rolex watch and P300,000 cash in an instant? He was just making those up," one of the arresting lawmen said.

Fallout

Following the arrest of Valera, more than 20 of his armed bodyguards left Abra and went into hiding, a top police official said yesterday.

"They (bodyguards) were monitored leaving the province. With Valera’s arrest, they sensed that they would be the next target of the law enforcement authorities," said the police official who is also privy to the investigation on Bersamin’s murder.

The police official claimed Valera had hired goons from nearby provinces of Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur and subsequently issued firearms.

Task Force Bersamin member and Abra PNP provincial commander Senior Superintendent Rogelio Damazo, however, said not all of the identified bodyguards of Valera fled the province.

"There are some who left and there are some who remained. We know where they are but we could not move in because there are no judges who can issue the necessary search warrants against them," one member of the task force added.

To maintain peace and order in the province, Task Force Abra has recalled all policemen detailed as bodyguards of politicians there. "We are willing to loan them (politicians) policemen bodyguards ‘on the need basis’," one police official said.

Malacañang, for its part, assured they would not intervene in the case involving Valera.

"Of course, this will not be an ordinary investigation, not an ordinary activity, but I think the police are competent enough to finish the investigation into the killing of Bersamin," Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.

Ermita pointed out the policemen were just performing their duties when they accosted Valera and his bodyguards.

"This is a police matter but the arrest manifests the determination of our law enforcement agencies to resolve the case soonest," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor earlier revealed Valera was trying to seek an audience with President Arroyo to tell her that he was not hiding.

He said Valera had called him at least twice seeking help.

While he initially agreed to help Valera meet the President, Defensor said he decided against it.

Valera wanted to present himself to the authorities with Defensor and the media, the Palace aide said.

"I told him (Valera) to come out and present himself to be able to clear his name and help in the investigation so that he can dispel perceptions that he is hiding because he is guilty," Defensor said. -With Non Alquitran, Aurea Calica, Paolo Romero, Myds Supnad